This invention relates generally to garment buttons and, in particular, to a two piece interchangeable fastening device that permits the facing of a button to be changed quickly and conveniently.
In many types of garment applications it is desirous to change the appearance of certain pieces of clothing, such as jackets and the like, to compliment changes in the wearer's ensemble. Replacing the garment buttons is one such method. Continual cutting away the old buttons and sewing on new ones is, however, not only an arduous and time-consuming task but also soon destroys the garment fabric in and about the button location due to the repeated passage of needle and thread through the fabric. It has therefore been a longtime goal in the garment industry to find a button arrangement that will not only provide a means for quickly changing the button facing but also preserve the garment fabric.
Some fastening devices, such as the button disclosed by Thurber in U.S. Pat. No. 136,882, contain a threaded shank that is passed through the fabric and engages a nut on the backside of the garment to anchor the button in place. This arrangement requires that a hole be fashioned in the fabric to permit passage of the shank. This, of course, necessitates further working of the cloth in order to cut and tuft the hole. Even with a tufted hole, the rigid shank produces excessive wear in the cloth. Beyond this, buttons of this type never "hang" properly on the garment and thus give a rather false appearance that detracts from, rather than enhancing, the garment's looks.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,187 to Chaves, there is described a two piece button that includes a retainer that is sewn to the garment and a facing button that is press fitted into the retainer. The facing button contains a downwardly projecting stud that is passed vertically into a receiving hole carried in the retainer. The stud is held in the retainer by friction. Accordingly, the facing button can be easily dislodged by the simple act of buttoning or unbuttoning the garment. Similarly, the friction fit can be easily worn through usage and/or laundering of the garment.
A detachable stud button is further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,435 in which the button is attached to a stud and the base of the stud, in turn, passed through a buttonhole formed in the garment. The base of the stud is locked to an enlarged fastener that prevents the stud from being inadvertently removed from the hole. As in the case of the above noted Thurber button, a special hole must be formed in the garment, the stud can cause excessive wear of the fabric and the button does not provide the same appearance of a more conventional sewed-on button.